Stephen De La Vega

Angels Landing stands 1,488 feet above the valley floor at Zion National Park in Utah, United States. It is perched behind me in the photo. I stood on Scout Lookout , the turnaround point of my hike with my wife and son. There were good reasons we didn’t continue to Angels Landing:   1.     My son was only 10 years old at the time and one misstep could’ve been fatal. 2.     We would’ve had to file within a string of hikers, so the rest of the way would’ve been at the pace of the crowd. 3.     We were exhausted! Whew!   So, Scout Lookout was where we celebrated and looked forward to the remaining, mostly downhill, 1.9 miles. A 3.8-mile round trip doesn’t sound long, but this hike was strenuous. Very strenuous. The trail was 81% paved, but that doesn’t mean the steep elevation gain with an incline of up to 23 ° under nearly continuous sun exposure was easy. The only hike that was more difficult for me in terms of physical e...

  The Stanley Cup . One of the most revered trophies in professional sports. The cup itself has never changed, and it is the only professional trophy to display the names of every player of the championship team each year. As a hockey fan, I’ve seen this trophy in person. Not as my home team skated around the ice with it after winning the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That hasn’t happened yet. I’ve seen it in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto where it stands protected and honored most of the year. One thing I appreciate about the great sport of hockey: There isn’t a lot of glory outside of teamwork. Don’t get me wrong, the sport has its share of superstars, but, in its typically low-scoring gameplay, even the superstars thrive only within well-managed, cooperative team play. Teammates continually support and assist each other with humility as they work in unison to get the puck past the opposing goaltender. I imagine most hockey players are not in the game for individual glory. Maybe t...

  I’ve been a Christian for over 40 years. I’ve attended church very regularly for each of those years. I was much more than a Sunday Christian - very involved in ministry. But I was also a closet Christian. I didn’t always speak up for Jesus. I still don’t. Too often I shrink in silence. When the guys in the locker room carry on about girls, I do my own thing. When they exclaim, “Jesus Christ!,” I keep quiet. Sure, they know I’m a Christian. They even know I published some Bible studies, but when they occasionally comment about going to church or recite a Bible phrase, I clam up.   Why? Am I ashamed of Jesus?   The short answer: Yes, I am ashamed of Jesus. I’m a member of Christians Anonymous . Sometimes I prefer to sit on the sidelines and just watch instead of following through with the Great Commission that Jesus expects of us: Do what we can to help people everywhere follow Jesus, who in turn will do the same ( Matthew 28:19-20 , Acts 1:8 ). Who a...